Darden Dove Shoot Boasts High Dove Numbers, Thanks To The Work Of Many

Samantha Simonton has been coming to the Darden Dove Shoots for more than a decade. This past July 27, at the Olympic Shooting headquarters in Colorado Springs, Sam won first place in the J2 Category (15-17 years of age) in Olympic Skeet.

Each opening day of dove season for the past decade, Claibourne Darden and his wife Anita, have opened their Taliaferro County farm to the GON family for an opening day shoot, with proceeds going to the work done by our non-profit, GONetwork and its SEEDS program for kids. This year’s Darden Dove Shoot may have been the best ever—and that’s saying something, because this is traditionally the best shoot in that part of the country. The shoot comes off each year so well, thanks to the work of many. See my editorial on page 136 for why this is important far and beyond a good dove shoot.

Claibourne provides the land and the equipment to clear, plant, fertilize, spray, cut and burn the millet fields. He donates all of this and his many, many hours of work. Claibourne does not shoot. He is helped by his friends Jerry Gabbert and David Reville, and David doesn’t even shoot. Claibourne’s son, Claibourne III, donates his labor in serving the BBQ lunch. 

Wade Palmer, Patriarch of Palmer Equipment Co. in Washington, Ga., supplies all the bottled Palmer water for the meal and the field, brought chairs used at lunch and lent a brand-new Kubota UTV from Palmer Equipment to serve everyone in the field with refreshments. Wade’s people also cut, raked and baled the hay and positioned bails in good shooting positions around the two fields. Wade doesn’t shoot either.

Phillip Seay and his daughter Grace enjoyed some father-daughter time at this year’s Darden Dove Shoot.

Lunch, as is always the case, was fabulous BBQ from Fat Matt’s Rib Shack in Atlanta. The owner, Matt Harper, has been a staple of this outing for years, and, get this, thanks us for allowing him to drive 250 miles round trip to work on a holiday Saturday. 

Marine Corps Retired Lt. General Buck Bedard, from Las Vegas, has been a part of this shoot for a long time, and each year he donates a shotgun to raffle off among the participants as a fund-raiser for the shoot.

This year’s shoot was easily one of the best ever. I think the tropical storm that passed through eastern Georgia on Friday before opening day may have helped concentrate birds on our Taliaferro County field in Sharon, south of Washington. But I digress.

The number of shooting spots on the fields is finite, and invitations are extended first to those who have participated in previous shoots. Typically, there are fewer than a handful of spots open for new shooters each year. The shoot is always sold out.

These shooters bring the money that permits us to lend financial support to kids programs. One regular, Mary Helen Canady, comes from Charleston, S.C. and shoots every year. 

“I look forward to the shoot all year long, I love it. I just love being part of that sportsmanship atmosphere and seeing old friends and making new friends,” Mary Helen said.

To read more on how this shoot, and similar efforts, bear fruit beyond the dove field, please see my editorial on page 136.